Following the results of the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations' Good Governance survey, World Taekwondo has identified a series of reforms which it hopes will further enhance its governance with a particular focus on financial transparency.

Today’s meeting, held at the Holiday Inn London - Stratford City, covered a wide range of strategic areas as World Taekwondo continues its bid to optimise the development of the sport and ensure the best competitions for its athletes.

The Council also received reports on a number of its events, while the roadmap for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics was presented, outlining the plans to maximise engagement in the build-up to the Games and implementing reforms which will deliver the best competition.

The standing procedures for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games were also addressed.

It was reiterated that there will be 72 Para-taekwondo athletes in the K44 class, which for Tokyo 2020 will feature those normally from the +K43 class, competing across six medal events - three male and three female.

The competition will be held over three days with two medal events per day. 

The other competition to be addressed was the inaugural Grand Slam Champions Series, which was launched to take elite taekwondo to the next level and maximise media exposure.

The innovative new competition will see the world’s best 12 fighters in each of the eight Olympic weight categories - four male and four female - battle it out for a new title and record prize money in Chinese city Wuxi.

The Council also observed a moment's silence in memory of Kim Un-yong, the founding President of World Taekwondo, who passed away earlier this month.

"Today we have heard many excellent updates and reports which have given us great confidence that we are moving forward in the right direction," Choue said after the meeting, which was held on the sidelines of the World Taekwondo Grand Prix series event here.

"Taekwondo’s future is even brighter than its past.

"But we will not rest on our laurels.

"We will accelerate our efforts to innovate and evolve.

"We have so much to look forward to in the years ahead and by working together with the whole taekwondo family I have no doubt we will have great success."

A 2017 first-half review on the World Taekwondo development programme was also presented during the Council meeting.

Discussions focused on the ambition to increase the number of practitioners around the world and the number of Member National Associations (MNAs).

Another talking point was the development of operations for the existing MNAs.

World Taekwondo Athletes’ Committee co-chair Pascal Gentil made a presentation on its plans and emphasised the mission to ensure that athletes remain at the very heart of the sport.

The outcome of the World Taekwondo Sustainability Committee, which is aligned with the International Olympic Committee Sustainability Strategy, was also presented as the international governing body aims to minimise its impact on the environment.

There were also updates on the Global Membership System, brand guidelines, the World Taekwondo Cares Programme and the growing reach and importance of the Taekwondo Humanitarian Foundation (THF).

More than 120 MNAs have signed the Humanitarian Charter to commit their support to the THF.

A progress report on the 2018 World Taekwondo Junior Championships in Tunisian town Hammamet was also given and it was explained that organisers are looking to test innovative new technologies to connect the sport with the next generation.

Before the Council meeting began, newly-elected GB Taekwondo chair Julia Newton gave a short presentation on the work of the national governing body and UK Sport in developing a number of initiatives to further grow the sport in Great Britain.

Newton also spoke about the work GB Taekwondo and UK Sport are doing with World Taekwondo to launch a development project in Nepal.

The next Council meeting is due to take place in Hammamet on April 4, 2018.

This will coincide with the World Taekwondo Qualification Tournament for the Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games and the 2018 World Taekwondo Junior Championships.